MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College opened the 2023 season with a convincing 31-7 win over St. John Fisher University Saturday (Sept. 2) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. Junior receiver Dawson Snyder scored three touchdowns, including an electrifying 97-yard kickoff return, to lead the Pioneer offense.
St. John Fisher received the opening kickoff and drove the Marietta 27-yard line before stalling. The Cardinals opted for a 45-yard field goal attempt that was wide right.
Marietta responded with an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Senior All-American running back Bryce Agnew broke a 35-yard run to get the Pioneers inside the SJFU 5-yard line. Three plays later Agnew capped the drive with a 1-yard dive into the endzone. Matthew Gossett added the extra point for a 7-0 Marietta lead.
After forcing the Cardinals to punt on their next possession, Marietta drove to the St. John 20-yard line before trying 37-yard field goal. Gossett's kick was off the mark giving the ball back to St. John Fisher.
SJFU covered 80 yards in just six plays to even the score at 7-7. A 20-yard run from Peyton Nolan got the ball into Marietta territory and a 45-yard scoring strike from Aaron Chase to Ethan Curtis finished off the drive.
Any momentum the Cardinals gained from their scoring drive was short-lived. Snyder took the ensuing kickoff at the 3-yard line, found a seem to the right and was off to the races. A key block around midfield allowed Snyder to break free and score what would prove to be the winning touchdown. Gossett added the extra point to make it 14-7 with 8:49 left in the first half.
The Pioneers extended the lead prior to halftime. After holding the Cardinals on fourth down, Marietta took over on its own 35-yard line with just over three minutes left in the half. Three rushes and a 12-yard pass from Vierstra to Jay Melchiori moved the ball to the SJFU 40-yard line.
Completions to Snyder and Melchiori gained 12 more yards and gave the Pioneers a first down at the Cardinal 28-yard line. On the next play Viertsra lofted a pass into the endzone that Snyder pulled down in traffic for a Pioneer touchdown. Gossett's kick made it 21-7 at halftime.
Vierstra and Snyder connected on a 2-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and Gossett kicked a 28-yard field goal in the fourth for the 31-7 victory.
Vierstra completed z19-of-24 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Snyder was on the receiving end of 10 passes for 109 yards and the two touchdowns. With the kick return, he accounted for 206 total yards of offense.
Agnew carried the ball 20 times for 93 yards and one score. Zion Jackson-Wilborn rushed for 30 yards on 10 carries, while Vierstra finished with 27 yards on six carries.
Harley Hopkins led the Pioneers defense recording 1.0 sack and an interception. Mahleek Melton notched a sack, while Eric Thurman also had an interception.
Chase completed 10-of-23 passes for the Cardinals. He finished with 170 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. Michael Escobar caught five passes for 75 yards and Curtis had two catches for 42 yards and one touchdown. Nolan ran for 79 yards on 11 carries.
Joe Miscia led all tacklers with 14 stops on the day, including three solo and 11 assisted tackles.
Marietta is off next Saturday and then hosts No. 2 ranked Mount Union on Saturday, September 16 at 1:30 p.m.
Snyder leads Marietta to a 31-7 season opening victory over St. John Fisher
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230902_3yla.xml
2023
St. John Fisher
7
Marietta
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John Fisher (0-1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Marietta (1-0) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
Sep 02, 2023